Jack Crowe, former head football coach at the University of Arkansas (l990-92); Jacksonville State University (2000-2012); and Livingston University (1977-78) came to the Capital City Tuesday evening to speak to the Montgomery Quarterback Club.

However, it was evident that Crowe’s biggest claim to fame among college football fans in the Capital City was not his tenure as a head coach, but his tenure as the offensive coordinator under Coach Pat Dye at Auburn during the glory days of Bo Jackson (1982-85). Under the tutelage of Crowe, Jackson rushed for over 4,000 yards, won the Heisman trophy, and later became the only professional athlete to ever be named an all-star in two major sports, and was voted by ESPN in 2013 as “The Greatest Athlete of All-Time.”

Crowe indicated that he had come to Montgomery with two basic platforms. The first he described as the “right to life.” He spoke of how the Alabama-Auburn rivalry has made the state of Alabama “the best college football state in America.” Amid all of the intense competitiveness between the two universities in college football, he emphasized that they both need each other to flourish.

While speaking of the great rivalry of Auburn and Alabama, Crowe described his second platform as “fair trade.” He spoke of Coach Guz Malzahn and Coach Nick Saban as creative “game changers” that are changing the face of college football. He used the example of Malzahn’s fast-paced offense that is now being imitated by college and high school coaches across America. At the same time, Saban’s emphasis on collecting detailed information in recruiting and emphasizing nutrition has gained national attention as well.

Reflecting upon the first week of college football, Crowe said that Alabama looked outstanding, but Auburn has a long way to go. However, he was optimistic that Jeremy Johnson would get better and better as the season progresses.

Reflecting on the great Auburn-Alabama rivalry, Crowe shared a unforgettable moment that occurred in 1982 when he and Coach Pat Dye were on a recruiting trip for Auburn and landed at the Peachtree DeKalb Airport. While there, they received the news that Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant had died. Dye did not say a word for 15 minutes. It was as if his own father had died. Even though Dye and Bryant had become fierce competitors on the football field, it was evident that there was a mutual respect for one another that exceeded wins and losses on the gridiron.

Now completely retired from college coaching, Crowe has moved into the area of being a sports safety advocate. He indicated that concussions had become the No. 1 issue in high school and college football today. Because there is so much media attention today focused on concussions, Crowe indicated that from 2008 through 2013 there had been an 8 percent decrease each year in America among those ages 6 through 14 playing football. On a more positive note, Crowe indicated that Dr. Dean Siking at UAB had been among the leading advocates in America in the designing of a helmet that would be much safer.

From The USA TODAY NETWORK

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